Inheritances or gifts, when passed to younger generations, can help people get on the housing ladder, start a business or retire early. In doing so, they play a vital role in shaping people’s fortunes.
That role is becoming ever more important in the UK. While real incomes have stagnated, the value of wealth – driven in particular by house price increases – has continued to rise. With much of that wealth now being passed on to younger generations, we have entered a ‘new age of inheritance’.
This paper sets out the key facts and figures relating to the UK’s new age of inheritance, drawing mainly on existing research alongside some new analysis of public datasets. By bringing together a range of findings on the size, distribution and impact of inheritances in the UK, it provides a fresh perspective on what we expect this new age of inheritance to look like both for individuals and for the country more broadly.
Read the paper here.